The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an absorbent article in the form of a pants-type diaper or a sanitary panty, beginning with a flat diaper blank which comprises an elongated absorbent body enclosed between two casing sheets which at opposing front and rear end parts of the absorbent body have side parts which extend laterally beyond the abosorbent body on both sides thereof, said method comprising the step of folding the blank about a transverse axis so that the end edges of said side parts will lie edge-to-edge. The invention also relates to articles manufactured in accordance with the method.
So-called all-in-one diapers are being replaced to an ever greater extent with pants-type diapers, or so-called training pants, for slightly older diaper-wearing children. Pants-type diapers have a number of good features. They fit well on the wearer, they are easy to put on and take off with the child in a standing position, they sit firmly in place after having been put onto a child, and conform to the anatomy of the child as the child moves, in a comfortable fashion. Moreover, pants-type diapers resemble conventional underpants and it is easy to understand how they shall be used, thereby in many instances enabling somewhat older diaper-wearing children to perform themselves the simple operations required in putting on the pant diaper. However, pants-type diapers, or training pants, also have certain drawbacks. They are difficult to change while the child is lying on his/her back and, when changing the pant diaper, require any garment that is worn on top of the pant diaper to be removed completely. Neither can a used pants-type diaper be rolled-up and sealed in the same manner as an all-in-one diaper. In addition, a dirty pant diaper which contains feces is liable to soil the wearer when removing the pant diaper.
An object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article in the form of a pants-type diaper or a sanitary panty which is not encumbered with the aforesaid drawbacks, while beginning with a pants-type diaper blank or a sanitary panty blank that has been manufactured in the same way as conventional diapers.
In accordance with the invention, this object is achieved with a method of the kind defined in the introduction which is characterized in that the side edges of the front and the rear side parts which mutually oppose one another in the folded state of the blank are joined together with the aid of a releasable and refastenable fastener means.
The present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing an absorbent article in the form of a pants diaper or a sanitary panty. The method comprises the steps of providing a web of a plurality of mutually joined flat blanks, each of said plurality of blanks including an elongated absorbent body enclosed between two casing sheets which at mutually opposing front and rear end parts of the absorbent body have side parts that extend laterally beyond said body on both sides thereof, the side parts having end edges; separating the mutually joined blanks from each other by cutting individual blanks from the web of mutually joined blanks; providing a releasable and refastenable fastener having two elements, the two elements of the releasable and refastenable fastener being joined to each other; mounting one of the two elements which include mutually complementary members of the releasable and refastenable fastener on the outside of the side parts of one of the front and rear end parts of each of said individual blanks; folding each of the individual blanks so that the end edges of said side parts of each said blank lie edge-to-edge; mounting a second of the two elements on the outside of the side parts of the opposing other of the front and rear end parts so as to releasably and refastenably connect the opposing side parts thereby forming a pants diaper or a sanitary panty having a completed circumferential waist and defined leg openings; and thereafter conveying the pants diaper or sanitary pants to a packaging station.
The present invention is also directed to an absorbent article in the form of a pants diaper or sanitary panty having a complete circumferential waist and defined leg openings directly after manufacture. The article comprises an elongated absorbent body enclosed between two casing sheets, wherein at opposing front and rear end parts of the abosorbent body said casing sheets having side parts which extend laterally beyond said absorbent body on both sides thereof, and the opposing front and rear side parts being joined together with releasable and refastenable fasteners, respectively, each of said releasable and refastenable fasteners being comprised of mutually complementary members of two elements, of which one of the two elements is fastened to the outside of the front side part and a second of the two elements is fastened to the outside of the rear side part, a circumferential waist opening including waist elastics, and a pair of defined leg openings including elastics.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, one of two elements which include mutually complementary members of a releasable and refastenable fastener means, is attached to one of said front and rear side parts which mutually oppose one another in the folded state of the blank, while the other of said two elements is attached to the other of said side parts. In the case of this embodiment, the two elements are joined together and, prior to folding the blank, one of the elements is attached to one of the front and rear side parts that oppose each other when the blank is folded, while other element is attached to the other side part in conjunction with folding the blank.
According to one variant of this embodiment of the inventive method, prior to folding the blank the two elements are attached in a mutually joined state to one of the front and rear side parts that oppose each other in the folded state of the blank, while the other element is attached to the other side part subsequent to folding the blank.
According to a second embodiment of the method, prior to folding the blank, the two elements are attached to respective side parts while spaced apart, whereafter the two elements are joined to one another in the final stage of folding the blank.
According to a third embodiment of the method, the two elements are attached in a mutually joined state after folding the blank. More particularly, this embodiment of the invention is directed a method of manufacturing an absorbent article in the form of a pants diaper or a sanitary panty, the method comprising the steps of providing a web of a plurality of mutually joined flat blanks, each of the plurality of blanks including an elongated absorbent body enclosed between two casing sheets which at mutually oppsoing front and rear end parts of the absorbent body have side parts that extend laterally beyond the body on both sides thereof, the side parts having end edges. The method includes separating the mutually joined blanks from each other by cutting individual blanks from the web of mutually joined blanks; folding each of the individual blanks so that the end edges of said side parts of each said blank lie edge-to-edge; and providing a releasable and refastenable fastener having two elements, the two elements of the releasable and refastenable fastener being joined to each other. Further, the method includes mounting one of the two elements which include mutually complementary members of the releasable and refastenable fastener on the outside of the side parts of one of the front and rear end parts of each of said folded individual blanks; mounting a second of the two elements on the outside of the side parts of the opposing other of the front and rear end parts of said folded blank so as to releasably and refastenably connect the opposing side parts thereby forming a pants diaper or a sanitary panty having a completed circumferential waist and defined leg openings; and thereafter conveying the pants diaper or sanitary pants to a packaging station.
The invention also relates to an absorbent article in the form of a pants-like diaper or sanitary panty, said article comprising an elongated absorbent body which is enclosed between two casing sheets which extend laterally outside the absorbent body on both sides thereof at the mutually opposing front and rear end parts of said body. The article is characterized in that the side edges of mutually opposing front and rear side parts are joined together by a releasable and refastenable fastener means.
According to one preferred embodiment of the article, the releasable and refastenable fastener means is comprised of mutually complementary members of two fastener elements, of which one is attached to the front side part and the other to the rear side part. The mutually complementary members may have the form of buttons and button holes, hooks and eyes, beads and grooves, or the male and female parts of self-fastening bands, e.g. VELCRO tapes.
According to one variant, the fastener means has the form of an adhesive coating.